An online web presence is crucial and also essential for any kind of online, or offline businesses, but implementing the strategies is a tedious task. Thanks to the release of a great feature from Microsoft, called Silverlight that eases this process to aid in online presence.

Silverlight is a web browser application that boasts both cross-platform and cross browser plugin. With lots of application development including media, animation and interactivity, the browser allows plugin’s with Firefox for Windows and Firefox and Safari for Mac.

In this article, we will discuss the 10 things that are essential to know about Microsoft Silverlight.

 It avoids cross browser or Operating System issues

Developing a website that works in-line with the browsers is a tedious task, especially regarding the larger implementation and multiple testing scenarios. The use of Silverlight model developers a developmental model that supports multiple operating systems and browsers.

Silverlight 1.1

The rumored release of Silverlight 1.1 is believed to support the developers in all the ways possible with the release of.NET and its languages like C# and Visual Basics. In addition to these, it will also support the dynamic languages like Jscript, Python, etc.

The use of technologies

Silverlight is built with some or many of the Microsoft technologies like XML JavaScript, etc. This finds immense advantage for your developers while building the website as they need not learn new languages.

It is just like HTML

Silverlight works on XAML. XAML is just like HTML that uses pain texts that command the web pages to look and execute a certain way. However, the only difference lies in rendering the files, which is done by Silverlight during execution.

Complementary to Ajax

User interaction is everything with web pages. Ajax is one rage that puts the code directly into the browser and enhances the interaction. One of the canonical examples is the use of Google Maps.

Silverlight demands the designers and developers to work together

It emphasizes on the design and the aesthetics of the page which forces both the developers as well as the designers to work in coordination with one another.

 The deliverables are not automatic

The features of Silverlight is delivered to the web browser in bits and pieces.. This means the code and the designs are delivered as separate packages and the remaining assets are delivered separately. This separate delivery of packets to the browser creates a dynamic content to the server.

 It is new and dynamic

The release candidate of Silverlight is 1.0 and its alpha release Silverlight 1.1 is on its way. Although the technology is immature compared to the adobe Flash and other Flex products, it is still in its early stages of providing the best user experience.

XAML v/s WPF XAML

Both Silverlight and the Windows Presentation Foundation uses XAML. But due to the differences in their adoption, both are not as compelling as they seem to be. This can be both an advantage and disadvantage for the users.

 It is a gateway to learn XAML

It is one technology that thrives on XAML and hence provides the developers with an opportunity to enrich with XAML knowledge.